‘Ant-Man’: A superhero movie that stands (and shrinks) on its own (Our grade: B)

This photo provided by Disney shows Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man in a scene from Marvel’s “Ant-Man.” The film releases in the U.S. on July 17, 2015. (Zade Rosenthal/Disney/Marvel via AP)

In an April interview with Buzzfeed, “Avengers” director Joss Whedon discussed the conflicts inherent in the sort of serialized storytelling that had become the backbone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies — and, frankly, every other continuity-heavy comic book franchise.

“If I don’t” deliver a complete experience, Whedon said, and “I haven’t brought you on that journey and closed it out, (expletive) me. That’s the danger of this sort of serialized storytelling, turning the motion picture experience into episodic TV. Because we (already) have episodic TV.”

This is what makes the surprisingly lithe “Ant-Man” so refreshing — though its a part of the MCU cycle of movies, you don’t need to know the Avengers from the Justice League to enjoy this weird romp starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, a burglar with a heart of gold.